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Changeling Lands
Lore Aggressive, deceptive, and loyal to their hive changelings are insectoid pony-like creatures. All changelings possess unique shapeshifting magic. It enables them to shift form, voice, and even size with stunning rapidity and accuracy. They use this ability to fool their victims and drain their love, which is essential for their survival. Recent pony scholars have discovered that changelings are more insectoid than mammalian - hatching from eggs as larvae in collective hives. But beyond that - how their Hives work, the role of Queens in their society and breeding, how they acquire love, and how they think, are up to the imagination as any who travel to their territory will meet an almost certain demise. Fortunately for their neighbours, their militarism and aggression caused them to spend far more time fighting each other than outsiders, allowing Olenia and Equestria to outmatch isolated incursions. But all of that changed in 1002 ALB, when the ambitious Queen Chrysalis led her hive on a bold mission into the heart of Equestria. The Siege of Canterlot In 1002 ALB, Queen Chrysalis kidnapped and took the form of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (Cadance), gaining access to the highest levels of government, using her status as a Princess and fiance of Equestria's Guard Captain, Shining Armor. Only last-minute discovery by Twilight Sparkle (also Shining Armor's brother) compromised the plan. Despite being discovered, Chrysalis had been able to feast on so much love that she used her overflowing magic to defeat Princess Celestia and prevent the Elements of Harmony from wielding their power, summoning her hive to occupy Canterlot and feast. What followed was one of the most chaotic battles the ponies of Equestria had ever experienced as the changeling swarm descended upon the ancient city. The vastly outgunned and outnumbered Equestrian Royal Guard units mounted a desperate resistance on the streets. It seemed that all hope was lost. It was only when the real Cadance, freed by Twilight, turned the love collected on her behalf against Chrysalis, and freed Captain Shining Armor. He was able to quickly repower Canterlot's powerful magical shielding. In one fell swoop, the Changelings were repulsed from the pony capital. This battle was the first true wake-up call for Equestria, and would begin to spark tentative interest in military preparedness and practice. Even the Elements of Harmony were forced to engage in combat to succeed. The New Hive This defeat brought Chrysalis to the brink of a breakdown. But she was not defeated, and she nursed her grudge into a relentless drive. She gathered remnants of her hive and spent the next few years in an attempt to diplomatically or forcefully unify The Changeling Lands and its different hives. Olenian scouts and seers begin to report strange sightings - changeling hives that had ceased their internal squabbles, instead building and working together. More organised, more numerous border raids led by increasingly professional forces. The changelings had always been an industrial, technological race, but recent weaponry showed unprecedented advances over their southern neighbours. The modern Changeling Military now features the most developed Army and Air Force in the world. With these tools at her disposal, the Changelings hope to overcome their enemies with ease, so long as they can keep this technological advantage. Dissenting Voices Chrysalis' attack on Canterlot cost the changelings heavily. The defeat was quickly followed by dissatisfaction with her standing as leader. A strong Queen brought food and victory to the Hive. Chrysalis had proven herself weak. Acting promptly, Chrysalis moved quickly to purge high ranking dissenters, especially amongst her powerful generals. However, Chrysalis cannot be everywhere, and the whispers continue. One such changeling has begun to spoke beyond a whisper. Thorax, a dissenting drone, has been suggesting a new possibility for this industrial world - why not trade with willing Olenians for love and sign a non-aggression pact with Equestria? This would guarantee both food and safety for the hives. A Second War The Queen knows that her young, unified Nation is not yet ready to take on the ponies, though. She must bide her time and focus on further development and expansion before she can truly grasp for revenge. Luckily, opportunity presents itself with a valid and easy target for conquest. The Kingdom of Olenia to the south is in political turmoil and is militarily weak. In such a crippled state, it would be more than easy to walk in and seize the land for themselves. The deer might just be the first ones to feel the combined might and fury of the Changelings Soon, the ponies shall tremble, and the Changelings will reign supreme! Gameplay and Strategy Political - The Changelings start with the most technologically advanced nation on the planet, with established tank, air and naval forces. Their focuses allow for rapid buildup of their already respectable military base, and they have options for war with both the , which provides bonuses to the Changelings for little effort, and , which provides more factories and needed resources very early in the game. However, this power will be needed to challenge Equestria, the Changeling's ultimate target. With the largest industrial base in the game but crippling peacetime maluses, Equestria will close the gap as it rearms. Army - '''Changelings start with a very strong army that can arguably defeat any force on the planet in a straight fight, and the advanced templates will save a lot of army experience. This includes 6 smaller garrison divisions, 7 infantry divisions, 4 jaegers (light infantry divisions), 5 motorized infantry divisions and 2 light tank divisions, for a total of 182k deployed ponypower, 2.4k motorized and 360 tanks. Apart from the garrison divisions, all forces are fully equipped with standard support (engineers, recon, artillery). '''Airforce - '''Changelings start with 250 Fighter I, and two fighter aces, putting them on a solid foundation for expansion. '''Navy - '''Changelings start with 5 capital ships (2BB, 2BC, 1CA), 21 screens (2CL, 19DD) and 19 submarines. They are very advanced in their technology (1007 models for all ship classes aside from Carriers). However, they will still likely struggle against the Equestrian Navy, which starts with a single Carrier already deployed and Naval Bomber I tech researched. However the true strength of the Changeling Navy comes with their completely unique ship model: the Cruiser Submarine. These submarines have a base maximum range of 7000 kilometers, which can be further increased by adding fuel tanks. With these improvements, the player will be able to attack convoys on the eastern coast of Equus and even near the western coast Griffonia. This can effectively cut Equestria off from the precious aluminium deposits in New Mareland, severely hurting their capability to produce aircraft and support equipment. Timing Equestria Equestria has two thresholds for unlocking its full power. '''Change to Laws - Equestria can change its recruitment and economic laws at 15% World Tension or 15% War Support. This will only partially empower Equestria - it must still remove the Magic of Friendship and gain other benefits via the Emergency War Committee. This only happens if the Changeling player is attacking quite late. Emergency War Committee 'will typically be unlocked by one of three ways. *The Changelings begin the ''Lead the Armies focus, which allows them to go to war with Equestria. *World Tension reaches >50% / War Support >40% *Equestria has a civil war Given this, the Changeling player should pick an extreme - either an early attack, or late attack. A middle ground has the weaknesses of both and the strengths of neither. '''Early Attack - Even without Emergency War Committee, Equestria will increase in power - building more military factories and equipment. Attacking early, with only small delays to take industrial or other powerful focuses, will hit the Equestrian military when it is still small and low tech. The Changelings can attack as early as 2 years and 4 months into the game (May 1009) - taking the research slot and hive industrialisation focuses will add 420 days to this time, and quickly grabbing the focuses for 4 civilian and 3 military factories will add 140 days. An Equestrian friendly (elects Dark Wing or Vasily), or an Equestrian civil war, is best countered with an early attack. Late Attack - Equestrian military production will allow the country to strengthen quickly from its early game weakness, but Equestria is hamstrung in the longer term by its low recruitable population and slow military factory production speed. A longer-term outlook on production and war preparation will allow the Changelings to produce a vast, technologically advanced army that greatly outnumbers the Equestrian forces. Should the longer path be chosen the Changelings have to carefully monitor Equestria - once WT is >50% or War Support is >40%, Equestria can increase recruitment, improve its economy, and start to close the gap. An Equestrian hostile (elects Sinister Serov) could benefit a late attack, depriving Equestria of a powerful ally. Consolidating Power Changelings open by completing the unification of the hives, by taking the Destroy Thoraxian Opposition Focus. Alternately, the Changelings can pursue a Harmonic Path, triggering a civil war, by taking Thoraxian Betrayal. War Against Polar Bear Communities Given the tight time constraints, taking the resource and industry poor is difficult to justify. However, the focuses are fast and can provide helpful bonuses to Changeling industry and resources. Envoy to Polar Bears will allow Changelings to demand the submission of the Polar Bears as a puppet, along with gifts of gold, resources, or land. Gold will provide the changelings with 10% Military Production Output, 5% construction speed and -5% consumer goods for 3 years. Resources will provide 20% Resource Gain efficiency. By contrast, the land is barren and worthless. Should the Polar Bears refuse, the next focuses will unlock, allowing the Changelings to either directly go to war or start two border wars. Border war is the superior option, producing significantly less world tension and keeping the original bonuses demanded. By winning both border wars the Changelings will cause the Polar Bears to surrender. War against Olenia Taking Olenia is the necessary prelude to the Equestrian invasion. The biggest risk is Equestria intervening on the side of Olenia. This can happen if Olenia chooses harmony and reaches the end of its tree (426 days + time to win the civil war if rushed) or if Equestria uses its tree to start a civil war in Olenia. After the civil war Equestria can guarantee Olenia (364 + time to win the civil war if rushed.) Changelings can rush Olenia faster than this and so it is recommended to take Olenia early - it's industrial might will be helpful to the Changelings and the Olenian military is no match for the Changeling army. Olenia can be puppeted or conquered with a focus - puppeting will usually be refused and allows Changelings to go to war with lower world tension. When the war starts a neutral Olenia will typically surrender by event well before capitulation. Taking Equestria General Considerations Equestria - the ultimate goal for the changelings. Once the Lead the Armies focus is selected, Equestria will have 140 days notice to prepare for the invasion, during which time they can begin their military focuses. The Equestrian border is typically fortified and has rivers along much of its length. Blitzkrieg and tank heavy tactics will help achieve breakthroughs. The first months of the war are crucial and will usually determine the winner. No matter when the changelings attack, Equestria will start getting an advantage if the war drags on - the Changelings are in a battle against time. Thus, to win the war, the player must obtain a significant advantage in the first months of the conflict. This is especially since Equestria also has a significant degree of manpower and a large industrial base. However, due to its need to rearm, Equestria's actual army size would be similar, if not smaller, to that of the changelings. One possible strategy is for a changeling player to focus on encircling Equestrian divisions with tanks, motorized/mechanized and infantry, destroying enemy divisions that will deprive Equestria of its ability to hold its frontline, despite its ponypower advantage. Infantry divisions with high soft attack and piercing (created by having magic and standard infantry in a division template) would be essential to that end. The Border Unfortunately for the changelings, the north Equestrian border is a respectable defensive position, with many rivers and other natural obstacles to cross. The front can be divided into 3 main parts: The Vanhoover – Acornage Line This is undoubtedly the most protected part of the border. A large river protects all provinces, so even with a significant advantage, the changelings will have to spend a long time breaking through - Often enough time for the Equestrian to reinforce the endangered provinces. However, this section has one significant weakspot. Province distinguished on the screenshot borders 4 Changeling provinces. By attacking from four directions, the player can achieve 200 combat width and deploy 10 20 width divisions to fight at once. A force of this size, with a good general, full planning bonus and the buff from Force Attack can overwhelm almost any defence. Note that shortly after the war starts, 5 units of jaegers will appear behind the enemy lines near Vanhoover, able to make a rush for the port or support border attacks, though a competent Equestrian player will anticipate this. The Central Opening This sector is most promising for the attacker. There is no river, all provinces are plains, avoiding defender terrain advantages, and Equestrian focuses do not give any forts to this area. There is a river two provinces behind the border, but if the player manages to obtain a quick breakthrough, they should be able to cross the river before the Equestrian divisions can reorganize after the initial defeat. The Changeling – Crystal Border This small sector of the front is protected by a small river. Any attack which comes here will be met with significant resistance from both Equestrian and Crystal units. One of the biggest problems with trying to achieve a breakthrough here is the forest area behind the river. It significantly slows down every possible offensive. Furthermore – eastern Crystal states have very low infrastructure levels, so high division attrition quickly becomes an issue. On the flipside, the border here is also easy to hold, and the Crystal Empire has fairly low ponypower. Having an army of divisions just apply pressure (cautious execution of attack plan) will pin down Crystal Empire divisions, and free up divisions to sweep through Equestria. Other Mechanics Changeling Demilitarisation If changelings are liberated by Equestria, they will enforce demilitarisation on the nation. Changelings will become a puppet, with 0 manpower, the Disarmed Nation law and set to Civilian Economy. Changelings will not be able to change these restrictions unless remilitarised by their overlord. Changeling Spies Once at war with Equestria, the Infiltrate Equestria focus can be used to send spies into Equestria. This will give them a national spirit with -0.2 daily PP, -12% stability and +10% supply consumption. This cannot be removed quickly by the Equestrian player without very large expenditures of PP (150 for a 1.5 year removal time, 300 for a 200 day time, 500 for a 150 day time). Whilst the idea is active, Changelings can also take Spies in High Places, which gives the Changelings bonuses to pp (0.15 daily) and research time (-5%) Zecoran Resistance When Equestria is defeated, Zecora may later lead a last-ditch resistance from the Everfree Forest. This can be prevented from emerging by keeping several changeling divisions in the Everfree. Changeling Protectorates All nations on the continent of Equus have cosmetic localisation for being a changeling puppet. However, in addition to this, the Changelings can release portions of Equestrian territory as protectorates. Each protectorate receives all changeling territory. The five potential regions are as follows. *Manehatten *Baltimare *Stableside *Southern ** Note that the southern protectorate will not form if Baltimare is formed first because the Southern protectorate includes both Baltimare and Stableside *Appleloosian Sombra and Nightmare Moon Should Sombra emerge in the Crystal Empire he may seek to create a faction with the and / or Changelings. He may also propose marriage to Chrysalis, though this has no gameplay benefits other than improved relations between the two countries. A Sombra-Chrysalis marriage isn't the only crack shipping available to the Changelings either. Can you find the other two? The Changeling-Griffonian Attache Two Changeling generals are present in the Griffonian Empire, providing national spirits to both the Griffonian Empire and the Changeling Lands. These attaches can be recalled via decision or will be automatically recalled after the outbreak of war within a month or so. If they are feeling charitable, the Griffonian Empire may send some gifts with the returning attaches. One attaché, Thranx, has other plans, however... Equestrian Resistance After the changelings conquer Equestria and capitulate it and the Crystal Empire, and if New Mareland still exists, a resistance to the changelings will spring up, leading to attacks on infrastructure, military factories, or civilian factories every so often. The attacks are impossible to prevent, but by this point, the Changelings should have enough civilian factories to offset the attacks. The attacks will be permanently ended if New Mareland is conquered. The Thorax Path Taking the Thoraxian Betrayal focus will begin a civil war in the Changeling lands. The Harmonic leader Thorax has a new and different harmonic focus tree, aimed at aggressive promotion of harmony in Equestria and beyond . National Focus Technology Politics National spirits } daily * Training Time: * Planning Speed: * Maximum Command Power Increase: * Army Chief Cost: * Air Chief Cost: * Navy Chief Cost: *High Command Cost: The Changeling military structure is undergoing significant reforms as it abandons the old style of warfare, based on mass swarm attacks, and adopts heavy mechanised and aerial support. Chief proponent of this modernisation is Hivesmarschall Trimmel, supported by Queen Chrysalis and aided by the Griffonian attaché. |- | Oil Import Substitution | *'Refinery' Construction Speed: As the Changeling Lands may be cut of from oil and rubber supplies by our alleged enemies in the future, it is essential to establish our own system of synthetic refineries. Will be removed 12 October, 1008. |} Leaders Staff and Designers Political Advisors Tank Designer Ship Designer Aircraft Designer Materiel Designer Industrial Concern Theorist Chief of Army Chief of Navy Chief of Airforce Military High Command Economy Laws Industry and Resources *All values are the amounts extracted INCLUDING effects of negative Industrial Ideas (agrarian society, etc) and National Spirits. **Changelings start with one synthetic refinery granting an additional 2 oil and 2 rubber ru:Империя Кризалис Category:Countries